The New Orleans Sports Awards Committee presents the Eddie Robinson Award to an individual in the state of Louisiana who has demonstrated the qualities most closely associated with the legendary Coach Robinson: outstanding achievement in athletics, academics, sportsmanship, and citizenship by maximizing the use of limited resources.
When the Committee reviewed the nomination information for Burzis Kanga, the longtime tennis coach at the University of New Orleans, the members quickly realized he checked all the boxes.
The Privateers have captured three Southland Conference championships as well as the program’s first two NCAA Tournament appearances in the last four years.
“[To have success] you need to have good players,” Kanga said. “A big part of that is having players who buy in and recognize that I genuinely care about each and every one of them. I want success on the courts, but also off the courts. When they recognize a coach cares, they tend to work harder, they believe in themselves, nothing is unattainable if you work hard and do the right thing. That is so important to me. We’re not going to win at any cost, losing is part of life.”
The success has come for Kanga and the Privateers despite facing significant challenges – drops in enrollment at UNO have resulted in significant budgetary challenges for the entire university, including the tennis program.
“Adversities and challenges bring us to another level of determination,” Kanga said. “When you have your back against the wall, you need to dig deep to find a solution to see how you can keep on going. Make adjustments with what you have. My parents came to this country from Zanzibar (Tanzania/East Africa) in their mid-40s, and they did it with grace. They showed me nothing was unattainable with a good work ethic and by being a good person and doing the right thing.”
While the UNO program has found success on the courts, he has also driven his players to succeed in the classroom. Kanga’s team was selected as UNO’s Academic Team of the Year this year with a 3.8 grade-point average and will collect its third straight ITA All-Academic Team honor (for achieving a team GPA of 3.2 or better).
“We love the sport, we love competing, we love working hard, but remember – this sport has given you the opportunity to attain a really good education,” Kanga said. “The priority is your education. If you prepare now, everything will fall into place.”
Kanga was an All-American tennis player and a team captain at UNO in the early 1980s, compiling an all-time singles record of 81-9 while on the Lakefront. He first took over as the head coach of the Privateer tennis programs in 2003. After two years, Hurricane Katrina decimated the region and tennis was shut down for three years. With its return in 2008, the coach returned as well.
“I have a love affair with this city and the school that gave me this great opportunity,” he said. “I’ve had opportunities to to coach in other places, but I have stayed because I’m like an old oak tree and my roots are planted deep in this city and the university. It has given me so great opportunities in life, including a full scholarship, a great education, and many good people in my corner.
“I’ve used my determination and drive to handle a lot of adversities from a young age; I share that mindset with all my players. We’re the underdogs. And I love that.”
The New Orleans Sports Awards Committee came together when James Collins spearheaded a group of sports journalists to form a sports awards committee to immortalize local sports history. For 13 years, the committee honored local athletes each month and a variety of annual award winners. In 1970, the Sugar Bowl stepped in to sponsor and revitalize the committee, leading to the creation of the New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame in 1971, honoring 10 legends from the Crescent City in its first induction class. While adding the responsibility of selecting Hall of Famers, the committee has continued to recognize the top athlete in the Greater New Orleans area each month as well as a range of annual awards – the honors enter their 69th year in 2025.
The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 29 national champions, 110 Hall of Fame players, 55 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 91-year history. The 92nd Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will double as a College Football Playoff Quarterfinal, is scheduled to be played on January 1, 2026. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting over $2.5 billion into the local economy in the last decade.
-AllstateSugarBowl.org-
